


The Mission To Carbados

by TheBlackLagoon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gay Keith (Voltron), I have no idea what I'm doing, Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance is trying, M/M, Shiro needs a break, Their both idiots, fight me on this, keith is an idiot, keith likes hippos, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-12-22 08:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11963901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlackLagoon/pseuds/TheBlackLagoon
Summary: “Are you calling me a slut Pidge?”***Keith is pretty sure he's going crazy. Because Lance won't stop asking questions, and Keith can't seem to come up with the right answers. Or the time the team takes a mission to a literal death planet, and these two idiots get stuck.





	1. Mermaids and Hippos

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for my literal ramblings in this chapter, and maybe the whole thing. Also, please, please comment anything you liked or hated about it. Because I have low self esteem and I crave attention from strangers on the internet. But yeah, literally you could comment anything and I'd be happy.

The day hadn't started off all that different for Keith aboard the Altean ship. He'd woken early, eaten his daily breakfast of food goo, and headed to the training room for a bit of sword practice. Nothing unusual in the slightest. Then once he'd completed a couple of rounds with the practice drone, he'd gone off to shower. All in all, the first two hours of his day were good, normal, totally under the radar of importance. That is, until the rest of the crew was called to the bridge for a mission report. Keith heard this announcement just as he'd finished toweling off his wet hair. He let out a sigh, grabbed his jacket, and strode out the door without any more complaint.

As he made his way to the front of the ship, Lance caught up to him, long legs leading him right up next to the red paladin. The two walked quietly together, the early morning slowness still in effect. In the silence Keith had time to let his mind wander, as he glanced over at the tired hunched form of Lance. Keith had gotten used enough to this. Lance and he shared a hallway, so it made sense to walk together when heading in the same direction. Of course, this is what Keith told himself every time his heart sped up at the thought of the other boy wanting to walk with him. Because that was stupid, and Lance was stupid, but Keith's pulse did what it wanted, as always. 

"What do you think our new mission is?" Keith glanced up in uneasy surprise. While they did walk every morning together, neither of them had ever actually- started a conversation with the other. Not until they'd reach the bridge. And then, their interaction was mostly in argumentative form, a routine that Keith had gotten used to. Had even looked forward to. But Lance had tipped the scales. 

"I don't- I'm not really sure-" Keith muttered, clearing his throat with a slight cough. He hadn't really spoken a word until now. Lance looked over, his face a mixture of tiredness, and slight confusion. Keith turned away to look forward again. But Lance was apparently not a fan of silence at the moment.

"Yeah well, I hope it's a water planet. With like, hot mer-girls. I mean, I've already met some pretty cute space mermaids, but, it could happen again," Lance grinned slightly, tilting his head in Keith's direction. Keith frowned slightly, unsure of the response he was supposed to give to that. Was Lance expecting him to jump in on his weird mermaid fantasies? He realized belatedly that the silence was getting too long, and Lances smile was slipping. So Keith said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I hope there's some hippos," smooth. Really, really smooth. Keith could feel Lance staring at him, in bewilderment, intrigue, who knew? Keith wasn't going to make eye contact. He could feel the tips of his ears burning, and he tried in vain to subtly pick up his speed. But Lances long legs were hard to compete against. They ended up right back at the same pace, and Keith cursed his lactose intolerance. It was totally it's fault for making him short.  
"So- you like hippos? Who knew- what else do you like? I realize, like we've known each other for months now and I still barely know anything about you. Except you lived in the desert for a year- which by the way- pretty damn impressive. I mean I'm a social butterfly, so for me something like that would- be impossible, to say the least- but I don't know, did you enjoy it? I mean- probably not since Shiro was missing- but um- yeah?" Lance stumbled over his words a bit at the end as Keith turned to stare quizzically at the blue paladin. What was even going on? Was Lance really trying to get to know him? This early in the morning? 

"I- I enjoyed- the solitude in the desert, but- it was pretty lonely, even for me. And I like McDonald's I guess, I miss their shakes. And my bike? I miss fixing my bike. And hippo’s are just cool, I guess " Keith shrugged, frowning slightly. He was boring Lance he was sure. He liked McDonald's?? Is that the best he could do? But Lance it seemed, wasn't bored, nodding politely as Keith finished his stuttered confession. Lance opened his mouth, surely to continue his interrogation of the other boy, when the two realized they'd already reached the bridge. Allura stood, demure as ever, watching as they entered, slowly finding their places among the other paladins.

"Thank you for finally taking the time to join us. What on earth took you two so long? We've all been waiting for at least ten doboshes." Allura demanded, her impatience now clear across her face. Keith felt his blush return, this time coloring his neck in an awful blotchy red, but before he could answer, Lance spoke up.

"Sorry princess, my fault, I kept Keith. Had to ask him some questions about training exercises," Lance lied easily, smiling just enough to set the princess at ease again. 

"Well next time make sure to leave your questions for after team meeting, now let's begin."

______________________________________________________________________________

Apparently Lance would be getting his wish of a water based planet mission. Their job was on Carbados, a planet just as blue and green as earth- just, maybe ten times as dangerous. Most of the plants, animals and well- just about everything, was built to kill. The ocean was acidic, the plants were poisonous, and the animals- well they even made Keith shiver in disgust. The Galran fleet there was newly arrived, set up to start mining below the ocean's surface for a precious substance called Glycocine. Apparently a very rare, and very explosive natural resource. Keith, was not thrilled. For one, he was pretty sure he’d read somewhere in the debrief of the planet, that the natives had mouths for eyes- which- was not a pleasant thought. 

Four of the paladins had decided to go over their mission notes together in the lounge, crowded on the couches reading in abject horror. Shiro had gone off to talk strategy with Allura, and Coran was off- doing something. Keith thinks it might have been an Altean form of Yoga, but- he hadn’t wanted to ask all that much. So the four youngest members were left to their own devices. Pidge was crouched on the ground, going back and forth between typing and reading, her glasses sitting precariously at the very edge of her nose. Hunk and Lance were nearly piled on top of eachother, talking quietly about things they wanted to check out on the planet. And Keith was- getting distracted. Mostly because- Lance- who was stretched out languidly, head in Hunks lap, with his pale blue shirt riding up to reveal tanned stomach muscles. Which- not exactly professional. Keith was gonna have to talk to him about wearing baggier clothes. It just wasn’t fair when work was trying to get done. 

“Heh, I bet Lance’ll still try to flirt with the natives, I mean, they’ve got two extra mouths, I’m sure he’d be into that” Pidge commented, pointing out the same passage Keith had already read. Lance gasped in mock hurt, clutching a hand to his chest. Pidge grinned wickedly, but continued scrolling through her readings. 

“Are you calling me a slut Pidge?” Lance asked, standing up to poke her in the side. Pidge shrugged, smirking, and Hunk giggled off to the side. Lance’s eyes narrowed in on his best friend. 

“Do you think I’m a slut Hunk?” Lance asked again, turning his acted anger on the other, grinning boy. Hunk didn’t answer, but when Pidge snickered next to him, he couldn’t help but burst into raucous laughter. Lance watched in horror as the two broke down into spasms of mirth. Keith, for the most part was trying to ignore it. Because, yes. Lance was a bit of- well Keith wouldn’t say slut. Flirt. Lance was a flirt. Annoyingly so. 

“Listen- Lance- you’re like- the biggest slut we know,” Pidge finally answered, wiping tears from her eyes. Lance just glared, hands on his hips, and Keith couldn’t help but smile. Though all of them would soon be heading off to a death planet, they could still be just as crazy and fun as usual. But at the same time Keith chose to divulge in his slight bout of endearment, Lance turned his gaze to lock eyes with the red paladin.

“Keith, you can’t think I’m a slut right? Were buddies, you can be honest,” Lance posed the question with a pout, and Keith, to his irritation, found his heart beating two times as fast as usual. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and tried to think clearly. What had he just been asked? Something- something important? He should just nod his head, right? 

He shouldn’t have nodded his head.

Lance just tightened his mouth into a thin line, and turned on his heel with a huff. Pidge and Hunk were laughing again. And Keith- was just- confused. This is where Shiro found them, and the words on his tongue died as he took in the scene he’d just walked into.

“What exactly- is going on,” he asked quietly, and Pidge took it upon herself to calm down just enough to say-

“Keith just called Lance a slut.”


	2. Even Flowers Are Dangerous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’re here like two minutes, and you made a plant angry. A plant Keith,”

Lance wasn’t speaking to Keith. Or acknowledging him for that matter. Which honestly- not really fair. Because how was Keith to have known what he was doing when he agreed Lance was a slut? How was that even a conversation he’d been in? Lance had thrown puppy dog eyes his way, and his brain had melted. He’d panicked, and done the first thing that came to mind. Keith really needed to stop doing that. And it wasn’t like Pidge and Hunk were getting the silent treatment. No- of course the instigators of the stupid situation got off home free. 

So Keith was being ignored quite obviously by the time they’d all managed to suit up and head to their lions. He tried to send Lance an apologetic glance, but the other boy kept his eyes ahead of him, fiddling with a fixture on his gun. Keith huffed angrily. If he was gonna be like that, Keith didn’t want to apologize anyway. Lance could think he was a slut all he wanted. Keith shoots a glare Pidge’s way when he hears a snicker from her direction, but all he finds is a look of complete innocence on her face. She’s a green gremlin. A green, gremlin.

______________________________________________________________________________

Once the settle in their Lions and head out, they reach the planet in under five minutes, under one of Pidge’s cloaking devices. They landed softly in a small clearing of brightly colored flora, the vivid greens of the tree’s standing out against the many blooming primary colored flowers. Keith exited his lion first, jumping from red’s open mouth, sword at the ready. Shiro was was right behind him, eyes scanning the clearing in suspicion. Their mission was pretty clear. Stay out of sight of the Galra, destroy the mining tools, and get out. They’d come back to the castle, and get further instruction from there. The main goal was keeping the Galra from completing their own task for now.

Lance ran up to join the two scoping the perimeter of the clearing, his gun at the ready. Keith noticed he still looked kind of angry. His eyebrows were creased in focus, and his mouth was just a tight thin line. Keith rolled his eyes, and slashed away some foliage that was in his way. And okay- considering where they were- bad idea. The plant immediately started steaming, billowing clouds of thick green smog. Keith’s eyes widened as he scrabbled back.

“Visors on!” Shiro yelped, waving a hand over his helmet's face to activate the cover. Lance and Keith did the same thing, eyeing as the swampish fog began to eat away at the surrounding plants. Keith watched in fascinated horror, noticing the sand around the plant had melted into a glossy blackened sheen. Lance sighed in exasperation, eyes settling on Keith as if to ask “really?”

“We’re here like two minutes, and you made a plant angry. A plant Keith,” Lance scoffed, kicking at the darkened sand. Keith just glared at him. It was Lance’s fault anyway. Shiro just stared forlornly at the two of them as Pidge and Hunk finally joined them. 

“What did we miss? Did Lance do something?” Pidge asked giddily, eyeing the still, somewhat, fizzling pant. Lance glared at her, and pointed at Keith in accusation. 

“Don’t look at me, Keith can’t help himself from literally stabbing everything he sees,” Lance said, waving his arms around in annoyance. Keith shoved him, and turned to Shiro with a pleading look. Shiro took a moment to stare at the melting flora, sighed, and called everyone's attention to him with a small cough.

“Okay paladins, we know the plan, Hunk, Pidge you’ll be taking the Southern mine, Allura will be meeting me at the Northern one, so that leaves the Eastern to Lance and you Keith,” Shiro commanded pointing in various directions. When it was mentioned that Lance and Keith would be teaming up, Lance groaned slightly, which earned him a glare from Shiro. Keith’s heart clenched just the slightest bit, and frowned at the ground. 

“Alright, Pidge you’ve got the explosives? Hand those out, and we’ll meet back in the clearing in two vargas,” Shiro ordered, and with that they dispersed, taking with them Pidge’s home made explosives. Lance and Keith raced up a small embankment of glistening white sand, being careful to steer clear of any of the flowers and bushes lining their trail. Keith was silent, as usual, trying to keep his irritation with Lance at bay as they hurried over jagged black rocks on their way to the mine. Lance on the other hand, seemed to be trying to think of something to say. Each time Keith looked over at him, his mouth was half way open, and each time he noticed Keith looking, it shut abruptly. It was getting annoying. The fifth time it happened, Keith snapped.

“If you have something to say to me, just say it,” he groused, wiping sweat from his forehead, as he pulled himself up over a steep rock face. Lance glared at him slightly, and then averted his gaze. He didn’t say anything. Keith was still annoyed. They kept moving. 

It seemed like forever before they reached the mine, and both boys were sweaty, hot, and thoroughly agitated with each other. While they had walked their moods had steadily decreased, until every move the other made was something to argue about. 

“Would you stop, you keep stepping on the back of my heel,” Lance snapped.

“I wouldn’t have to if you moved faster than a god damn sloth,” Keith shot back, with just as much venom. Lance huffed in indignation, but picked up his pace ducking as he reached the crest of the hill they were climbing. Keith followed, his fists clenched, and crouched beside the blue paladin. The mine was just over the crest of the hill, in a small valley of indigo colored flowers. Galra were swarming like ants, in and out of the gaping hole in a cliff side. 

The Galran miners shuffled around here and there, prepping their instruments, and hauling loads of multi colored clay and dirt from the cavern. Keith and Lance watched quietly from their hidden position of the hill, as tremor shook the ground. The two looked at each other in worry, but the Galra seemed unperturbed by the miniature earthquake. 

“How do you think we’ll be able to get the bomb’s onto the equipment? Because all I can think of is using myself as bait, and I’m not really in the mood,” Lance whispered, glancing at the crowded ground below. Keith shrugged, but scanned the ground as well, picking up bits and pieces of information. Then he recognized the flowers. He shoved Lance slightly, ignored the glare sent his way, and pointed down at the indigo blooms. Lances gaze followed his hand, and his eyes widened in understanding. It was the same steaming plant from the clearing earlier. 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Lance asked, and Keith looked over at him with a smirk.

“I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they then proceed to fuck everything up. Man do I love writing about these two idiots. Thanks to those of you who have liked and commented on the story or even just read it, and please continue to do so. Unless you like- can actually see my writing sucks... But yeah thanks so much guys. I'll probably have the next chapter up tomorrow because I don't have school, and I can just stay at home, and write gay fanfiction. I'm really living the life.


	3. This Isn’t My Idea Of Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "They had fucked up."

Thankfully, they had been thinking the same thing.The two turned on their visors simultaneously, their previous arguments forgotten as they prepared for battle. With a wink that set Keith’s pulse going a mile a minute, Lance was off, skirting down the slope of the hill, bayard forming itself into his blaster. Within seconds of the shots fired by the blue paladin, the makeshift camp below was in chaos. Green fog was billowing in every direction, Galra’s were screaming in pain, their purple fur sizzling when contact was made. Keith scanned the melee, and grinned when he saw Lance sprinting towards the nearest bulldozer like contraption. Without wasting more time Keith headed for the next machine, sword out and ready for any Galra that got wise about the trap they’d set.

“Bomb one set,” Lance’s voice crackled over the radio, his smile evident in his words. Keith couldn’t see anything at ground level now, besides a few vague shapes in the acidic fog, but he knew Lance was somewhere off to his left. Within the next few minutes the two of them had prepared two more bombs. Keith was starting to feel hopeful that this mission wasn’t going to be so horrible.

“Bomb four and five set, one to go,” Keith responded once he’d set the second to last bomb just as Pidge had instructed him to. There was burst of noise from Lances side of the transmission, that had Keith jumping in shock. He couldn’t tell if what he heard was a yell, or something else, but Keith knew something had gone wrong. He tried to squint into the smog surrounding him but to no avail. They’d trapped themselves right along with the galra. Keith cursed himself. Shiro would have told him “patience yields focus”, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from jumping head first into to stupid situations. 

Suddenly a large shape loomed from the green shadows, and one second Keith was on his feet ready for a fight, the next he was was on the ground, bayard spinning into the nonexistence of the fog. Keith yelped, scrambling back as the shape took on a more of a form. It was a gargantuan Galran miner, who unluckily for Keith, was wearing protective face gear. The alien was a good ten or so feet tall, and was holding the struggling blue paladin like a rag doll. Keith gazed up in horror, as the creature tightened it’s grip of Lance’s neck just enough to stop his erratic movements. 

They had fucked up. Keith had fucked up. And now Lance was in danger. Was maybe going to die in the next few minutes. Because of Keith. 

Neither of them had their bayards, and their other team members were too far away to be of much help now. Keith clenched his fists, and suddenly remembered what he carried in his hand. The detonator. The Galra was lumbering over, dragging Lance along, and Keith couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not anymore. Keith took a deep breath, glanced at Lance in regret, raised his hand, and pushed the button. 

______________________________________________________________________________

All Keith felt was pain. Like, a lot of it. His ears were ringing, and his skin burned, and he was pretty sure he had a concussion. He awoke in a pile of rubble, head throbbing and body aching. He opened his eyes lazily, trying to pick up anything from his surroundings. The green fog was gone, but it was dark, and the air was thick with dust. Keith groaned slightly as he pulled himself into a crouch, and pushed a button on his chest plate. A pale blue light flickered on from his armour, giving him just enough light to spot the forms of the fallen Galra miner, and Lance. 

With a sharp pain in his temple, and screaming muscles Keith picked his way across the rocky ground, stumbling over the large figure of the Galra. He wasn’t breathing, and Keith noticed a thick, brackish liquid was streaming from a gash at his temple. It took a lot of his willpower to not kick in the guy's nose, but he did once he noticed in panic Lance’s condition. 

The blue paladin was covered in a thin layer of orange dust, but it did nothing to cover up the bloodied mess the rest of him was. There were two large gashes that Keith knew he had to be worried about. One at his forehead, and another at his ribcage. But the worst of the damage was underneath the rubble. One of Lance’s legs was pinned beneath a boulder, and Keith wanted to throw up. He fell to his knees, scrabbling for a hold on Lance. He checked his pulse first. He nearly had a heart attack, until an uneven beat played across his finger tips. He sighed in slight relief, but then looked back at the boulder. It wasn’t huge, but it would be difficult to move. 

He moved it anyway, his muscles screaming in protest, but he shoved with all the energy he had left. It rolled off, and Keith averted his eyes from the mess underneath. Lance was not going to be happy. If he ever woke up. Keith dropped back down with groan. Images of Lance’s last accident flashed into his mind, clear and painful. And while it had taken more than 24 hours to get him into a healing pod, he’d still gotten into one. And where they were now, that didn’t seem like plausible outcome. Because Keith had noticed while he pushing off the boulder, why it was so dark. 

The bomb's detonation had thrown them too far, and right into the open mine. The rocks over head had fallen and cut off the entrance. They were trapped. Keith wanted to laugh. So he did. It started as a slight chuckle, and soon transformed into a full out, tear jerking laugh. If they ever got out of this, Keith was gonna have Shiro follow him 24/7 to make sure he didn’t fuck up every chance he got. And oh boy had he fucked up. 

Lance groaned suddenly, eyes fluttering open, eye’s unfocused in the dim light of the cave. Keith gasped slightly and leaned forward, trying to gauge how out of it the other boy was. The answer was still to be determined. 

“You look like shit,” was the first thing out of his mouth, as his eyes focused in on Keith’s face. But Keith was too relieved to glare.   
“Lance listen to me, do you think you can sit up. If you don’t think you can, don’t try,” Keith warned, eyeing Lances twisted left leg. Lance followed his gaze, his eyes widening in horror, face paling. 

“I’m gonna throw up,” he whispered sullenly, and then turned and did just that. It lasted for a few minutes, in which Keith worriedly tried rubbing soothing circles in Lance's back. He wasn’t sure if it was noticed, but he kept doing it anyway. When Lance was done, he rolled back over, pain evident on his face, and locked eyes with Keith.

“What happened?” he asked, voice tired, and broken, and Keith grimaced in dismay. Lance was gonna hate him, it was his fault they were in this mess. But- the other boy only nodded when he explained the quick idiotic decision to set off the bombs. Like he agreed with Keith's decision. He definitely had a concussion. They both probably did.

“Do you know how to set a broken leg,” Lance finally asked, after several minutes of tense silence in the dark. Keith glanced at him and nodded, and Lance set his jaw into a determined line.

“Okay then, there’s some wood shrapnel over there you can use, and you’ll have to take off my chest plate to use my shirt to tie them together, can you do that?” Lance asked through clenched teeth, and again Keith only nodded, and set to work. He was pretty sure he was running on autopilot now, but for the meantime, it was probably a good thing.

In a few minutes, a couple of those spent awkwardly stripping Lance of his shirt, they’d set his leg in a makeshift splint. Lance was sitting up now, looking at the shallow cut his his side, and motioned to Keith for another piece of his shredded shirt. He placed it firmly over the wound, and grit his teeth as he hissed in pain. Keith felt useless. 

“So, what’s the plan?” Lance finally asked, as he finished tying the last bits of his shirt around his chest tightly. Keith looked at him in shock. He still wanted to hear what he had to say? After this mess he’d gotten them into?

“I don’t- I- our comms are down, I’ve tried to get through to the team, but I think something down here is disrupting our connection. I guess we move forward. I don’t know how far they dug, but- I guess it’s better than trying to move the boulders blocking this entrance. Usually mines will have openings to the above ground, to get oxygen in. But- I don’t know if they follow earth mining techniques,” Keith tried, looking farther into the tunnel. Into the darkness. Lance looked as well, his eyes a deep blue- an ocean depths blue. A blue Keith could drown in.

“It’s our best bet. It won’t do us any good wasting oxygen staying in one place. Help me get my armour back on will you?” Lance asked, and Keith paused, but slowly helped maneuver him back into the suit. Once that was done, Lance shifted uncomfortably, pushing himself up onto some nearby rubble. Keith realized with panic what he was trying to do.

“You need to rest, we don’t have to move right now,” Keith pleaded trying to ease the other boy back, but he was shoved away with a grunt. 

“I’ll be fine, besides I can’t fall asleep with a concussion, and neither can you. If we move now, we’ll be closer to rescue, and closer to getting to the pods,” Lance said in determination, his bloodied and bruised face stony. Keith gazed at him questioningly, and wondered belatedly how he wasn’t in love with this boy at the Garrison. 

“At least let me help you up, you can’t walk on you own,” Keith sighed, pushing himself up, and reached for Lance's hand. The blue paladin looked at it for a moment, but took it nonetheless. Keith is impressed when Lance doesn’t scream as he’s lifted up onto his leg, but, he does throw up again. Keith wished he could do more. He’s a shit partner to be stuck with. 

“Are you sure you want to move? We can stay and rest a bit longer, I’m not pushing,” Keith asked wearily, clinging to the arm Lance had thrown over his shoulder. The other boy grunted his consent to move, and Keith frowned slightly but began moving them slowly into the depths of the cavern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, oh man. This chapter was surprisingly easy to write. And I feel bad because It's basically just a whole chapter of Lance getting hurt. But he's also a total bamf, so I guess I compromised. Thanks to all of you who have liked and read, and please, please continue to comment things you've liked so far, or would like to see. I crave your judgment. pls.


	4. 20 Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So- favorite color?”- Or the chapter where Keith is super gay for Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I struggled writing it, and I've kinda been juggling a few other things along with this- but it's here! So read it. Please. Also, don't know if you noticed, I elongated the story, it's now going to be 6 chapters instead of 5, because I decided they needed to suffer longer. Any hoo, there will be an actual romantic type Klance scene next chapter so- you have that to look forward to. But right now, more suffering!   
> Comment anything you see fit, and thanks for reading and responding, this has been fun!

The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, and the wavering light from both their armours was only bright enough to see a few feet ahead. Keith felt like he was suffocating in the darkness, but for Lance’s benefit he tried his best to keep his breathing even. He didn’t think it was wise to bother the guy with broken leg with something else. Though Lance seemed a little out of it anyway. His forehead was beaded with perspiration, and he was quite obviously struggling to keep up right, even with Keith’s support.

“So- favorite color?” Lance suddenly asked, his weary voice echoing through the cavern. Keith looked over at him in confusion, trying to gauge if Lance was aware he’d spoken.

“What?”

“Your favorite color, what is it?” Lance repeated, grunting as they hit an uneven patch of ground. Keith looked forward, eyebrows furrowing to match his frown. It was getting harder to focus. Maybe his concussion was worse off then he thought.

“Are- are we really doing this right now? Why do you care?” Keith asked, trying to straighten them both up a bit to make moving easier. It just made the muscles in his back cry out in pain, and he clenched his teeth to keep from groaning. 

“I’ve got a broken leg, and I’m trying my best not collapse on top of you. It helps if I have something else to focus on, and I’m also a decent friend. I care. What’s your favorite color?” Lance asked again, this time looking over, his eyebrows furrowed. Keith stared back, into the deep blue of the other boys eyes, and he said the first thing that came to mind.

“It- it’s uh- blue. Ocean blue,” he muttered, turning away quickly, his cheeks burning, and he was thankful, for just a moment, how dark the cavern was. Lance was silent for a moment, and then he started to shake slightly, and keith looked to him in panic, but quickly became defensive when he realized why. 

“What are you laughing about?! You told me to talk, I’m talking, I didn’t have to,” He snapped, and Lance near immediately stopped his giggling. 

“I- I’m not laughing at you- I just- my favorite color’s red. Like a sunset red.”

“You’re joking,” Keith huffed a laugh, Lance’s smile widened. Keith’s traitorous heartbeat stuttered a bit, because, holy quiznak, Lance’s smile was just about bright enough to illuminate the cavern. 

“Dead serious,” Lance chuckled, and Keith’s mouth turned up into possibly the smallest smile ever, but he still did smile. 

“Okay then, I guess, uh- next question?” he coughed self consciously, rolling is aching shoulders. Lance paused for a moment to think, staring ahead quietly in concentration. Finally he spoke.

“When we get back to Earth, what’s the first thing you’re gonna do?” Keith stopped walking for a moment, bringing them both to a halt. He took a deep breath before pulling them back into walking. Lance was staring at him, he knew it, but he actually wanted to think about this question. Did he trust Lance with the truthful answer? Duh- his brain supplied- you’d tell this boy anything he asked. 

“I don’t- I’m not going back to Earth,” Keith finally supplied, staring at the ground, holding his breath as he felt Lance’s body stiffen next to him. 

“What?!” Lance nearly jumped out of Keith’s arms, but thankfully he was just weak enough to not throw them completely off balance at the moment. Keith huffed a sigh, and took a peek at the look on Lance’s face. He was pretty sure it was pity that was staring back at him, but also- disappointment- was he reading too much into it? Lance wouldn’t be disappointed in him not going back to Earth. Right?

“I just- I don’t- I don’t have anything or anyone special back there. What’s the point?” Keith cleared his throat, and looked away from Lance. He tried to get them moving again, but Lance wouldn’t move his feet, and Keith huffed in annoyance. 

“That’s not true.”

“What?” Keith asked, finally giving into Lance’s stalemate, by turning fully to look the other paladin in the face. Lance’s face had a resolute look to it, and his gaze was strong, and to Keith’s dismay, totally heart meltingly hot. 

“I said, that’s not true. You’ll have me- and- and the rest of the team. You think we’ll let you just head back to the desert by yourself? You’re family now, family sticks together. That’s like, rule number one,” Lance rolled his eyes, and Keith couldn’t help but have his mind stick to the ‘you’ll have me’. His brain was malfunctioning because he was pretty sure he was supposed to say thank you right about now, but all he could do was look at Lance, and his blue eyes, and tanned dirtied skin, and his lips. Keith was kind of stuck on the lips portion of his face. Finally, with more effort than it should have been Keith moved his eyes up, and spoke.

“Well I never got the rule book,” nice, smooth. How long had he just stared? Probably too long. Lance didn’t seem to notice though, because a smirk was slowly growing onto his face. 

“Lucky for you then, I know it by heart. So when we get back to Earth you’ll head home with me, and you’ll meet mi mama, and papa, then all my siblings and cousins. We’ll have a big dinner with Hunk, and Pidge, Shiro and Allura. It’ll be great, right?” Lance asked, and Keith, well he couldn’t help but immediately say-

“Yes.” And again, there was that megawatt smile, and Keith totally, actually smiled along this time. Who could resist a smile like that? How had Keith ever? 

“Can I ask a question now?” Keith found himself asking, a they finally started moving slowly again. Lance nodded and turned to him an eyebrow raised in question. 

“Shoot.” 

“These last few weeks- I don’t know- I just feel like- I mean. You’ve, been more interested- in me?” That came out wrong. Keith hadn’t meant it like that, but it was out there, and-

“Whaddya mean?” Lance asked, and Keith tried to calm his panicking internal monologue long enough to stumble through his response. 

“It’s just- I kinda thought- that you didn’t like me? It’s like- from the moment we met, when we saved Shiro together, you’ve had it in your head that we’re rivals, or enemies or whatever. I mean I know we moved past that, but I just thought it was for the benefit of the team. I guess I just assumed beyond that, you thought I was- annoying,” Keith finished in a rush, trying not sound so horrified. He was pretty sure his voice had cracked at some point.

“Keith buddy, you’re an idiot,” Lance sighed, and Keith turned sharply to frown at him. Lance just laughed softly at his expression.

“I don’t think you're annoying, and I’m not- I haven’t meant to freak you out, I just realized I’ve been- kind of an asshole to you, and you don’t deserve that. I just wanted to get to know you. Because you’re cool. I mean- even back at the Garrison I thought that. You were mysterious and, I don’t know, suave.”

“You thought I was suave?”

“Not anymore Hot head. But yeah- before I knew you- I did. I just, I want to make up for lost time, because- I think we could be good friends. If we communicated better. Which- you might struggle with,” Lance said with a smirk. 

“What does that mean? I communicate!” 

“Hmhmm,” Lance mumbled, smiling tiredly. 

The questions stopped after that, and the two walked in a companionable silence for what seemed like hours. Probably was hours. Keith had no idea. He hated the fucking dark. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

What Keith assumed was indeed hour’s later, they stumbled into an open cavern. They could tell it was bigger because of the moss. The glowing green moss coating the walls, everywhere. It lit up the cave, and cast eerie shadows across their faces. Keith couldn’t help but panic slightly by how haggard Lance looked. Though he was sure it wasn’t just the strange lighting. 

“I think it’s time we rest Lance,” Keith said quietly, and Lance responded with a grunt, and immediately leaned more weight on the other paladin. Keith stumbled a bit, but kept them both upright for long enough to gently lay Lance on a bed of the soft moss. Lance sighed a bit, eyes closing immediately. Keith was officially worried. Not that he hadn’t been before but, it seemed all that more real now.

Lance hadn’t spoken in a long time, and Keith was sure he hadn’t really been capable of it. And when Lance loses the ability to speak, that’s when Keith had a true reason to be worried. Now that Lance was asleep, or maybe passed out was a better wording, Keith was alone. And he had time to think.

Maybe it would be better to stay in one place, moving hadn’t been a great idea, especially in their condition. And did they really expect to find a way out? They were just heading deeper into this goddamn death planet, with no food, water or communication with the rest of the crew. Keith hated being alone. 

With a weary sigh, he slowly lowered himself down next to Lance, taking slight comfort from the softness of the moss. He stared, for an exceedingly weird and long time, at Lance’s peaceful expression, and let himself believe that they weren’t trapped in a cavern, dying, and lost. No they were back on the ship after a long but successful day of training, and they had chose to lay down for a nap together. Keith nearly laughed out loud. Like Lance would ever want to speak to him again after this, much less take romantic cuddly naps with him. 

But he imagined it anyways. And that’s how he slowly drifted to sleep, facing Lance, with warm thoughts circling in his head.


	5. Is This The End?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shhh, I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating, but you're kind of ruining the heaven like qualities of it- I’m gonna sleep now,”

Keith woke up with a gasp, heart thudding violently against his chest. Where was he? Why did everything hurt? Where was- Lance. Lance. Keith rolled over to see the still sleeping face of the Blue paladin, lit up in the eerie light of the green bioluminescent moss. Keith sighed slightly, leaning back on his elbows to take a few calming breaths. So they were still trapped, but they were both here. After a few more moments, when Keith's heart wasn’t trying to break free of his chest, he turned back to Lance, gently shaking his shoulder to wake him.

“Lance, I think it’s time we got back to moving,” Keith whispered, trying to gauge how out of it Lance would be this time. He shouldn’t have let him sleep with the concussion, but there hadn’t been much else either of them could do. It had been either sleep or walk, and he was sure Lance would have just collapsed here anyway. 

“Lance- hey, sleepy head, wake up,” Keith shook his shoulder a little harder, but there still wasn’t any response. Keith’s chest tightened a fraction as he moved closer to Lance, looking for any sign of wakefulness. But no- Lance was- Lance wasn’t waking up.

He placed his trembling fingers over the skin of Lance’s neck, hoping, praying he’d feel something, anything. There was no- no- there was- but it was so faint. So faint. With a groan of panic, keith took his hand away, placing both his hands adjacent on Lance’s shoulders.

“Come on you fucking idiot, do not die on me! I did not drag your ass miles down an alien tunnel for you to die in your goddamn sleep okay, I will not have it,” growled, tightening his grip, trying to keep a slight semblance of calm. The last thing he wanted to do was to start shaking the other paladin in panic. Probably wouldn’t help his concussion, and maybe near death state. Taking a deep breath, Keith thought back to a week long training course at the Garrison for CPR and other life saving techniques. Probably one of the more useful things he’d learned there for sure.

Without wasting more time Keith quickly began removing Lance’s armour, and unzipped his skin tight flight suit. His eyes momentarily zoned in on the soaked through bandages wrapped around Lance’s middle. That was a lot of blood. Focus- Keith had to focus. Without anymore hesitation Keith centered the heel of his hands in the center of Lance’s bare chest, beginning compressions. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,- 29, 30-. Keith took the smallest of pauses, before gritting his teeth, as he tilted Lance’s head back gently, pinched his nose closed, and breathed a quick breath into the other boys mouth. This wasn’t how he’d exactly imagined his first kiss with the Blue paladin. Trying to ignore the coldness of Lance’s lips, Keith gave him one more breath, then moved right back into the compressions. 

Keith wasn’t sure how long he sat there, trying not to spiral into his growing anxieties, as each compression seemed less and less likely to really be helping. He couldn’t properly get it through his head yet that, maybe there wasn’t anything he could do, because maybe- maybe Lance was- But then Lance’s eyes were open, and he was gasping arms flailing out in front of him. Keith only just managed to stumble back in time to not be socked in the jaw. Lance fell back into the moss, lungs heaving, trying their best to work like they should. Keith just sat in shocked silence, as Lance struggled to get up. But then, in the way things usually went for Keith, he did the first thing that came to mind. He was suddenly in Lance’s space, grabbing his face in his hands, and- and he was kissing him- and- and Lance was kissing him- maybe. Keith still wasn’t really thinking anything other than, his lips are warm now. But then it was over and Keith fell back, his breathing heavy, his face burning, and Lance was just staring- in shock? Awe? Utter confusion?? Probably a mixture of all those things.

“I’m dead- I’ve died and gone to heaven” Lance muttered slightly falling back onto the moss, his eyes still wide in surprise.

“I’m so sorry- I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have- But I thought- You weren’t waking up and- I-”

“Shhh, I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating, but you're kind of ruining the heaven like qualities of it- I’m gonna sleep now,” Lance said matter of factly, closing his eyes abruptly. Keith jumped forward, slapping Lance’s shoulder in panic.

“No! No- you can not go back to sleep, your very nearly just died, no sleeping please,” Keith yelped, shaking the blue paladin slightly, not enough to jar him too much, but enough to get him to open his eyes back up in annoyance. 

“If this is what all angels are like Heaven doesn’t sound so good. No bueno for Lance- At least you're pretty, you definitely look like an angel,” Lance muttered, slurring his words slightly. Keith could feel a deep blush creeping up his neck, but he was able to focus enough to get Lance into a sitting position. 

“Do you think you could answer some questions- so I can make sure you stay awake?” Keith asked, as he held Lance up. Lance frowned slightly, his eyes fluttering, very much looking like he was going to pass out any second. Keith really didn’t want to be alone.

“Sí, sí, yeah- yep- totally- No problemo,” Lance babbled, and this close Keith could see how unfocused in his eyes were, and suddenly it felt like his heart was in a vice grip. Yep- he was definitely feeling guilty for that kiss now. He’d probably chosen the worst time for it. Because Keith just couldn't think things through. Keith clenched his teeth to fight off the bubbling panic in his stomach, and tried to formulate a question for Lance.

“What- what do you plan to do when you get back to earth?” Keith stuttered, trying to keep Lance from toppling over onto him. Lance was squirming in his grip, he didn’t really seem to be listening anymore.

“Lance, Lance, can you answer the question?” Keith asked quietly, and Lance stopped fidgeting, pausing to stare dazedly up at the ceiling of the cavern.

“I said- I said- you know, that I’d take you to- to mí familia- soo that is- that isss what I’m doin when we get back to earth. Because I don’t want you to be lonely- because you’re jus- reaally sad- It’s sad- and you shouldn't- I don’t like- you should nevver- I’m tired- I’m really tired,” Lance stopped to lean forward onto Keith’s chest, nestling his head into the crook of his neck. Keith froze a moment, at the confession, and the clammy feeling of Lance’s forehead against his skin. How much longer would he be able to keep this up. 

Keith pushed softly at Lance to keep him from drifting off, trying his best to keep away the sting in the back of his eyes from turning into full out tears. That’s the last thing he needed now. With a sigh, he opened his mouth to start onto a new question when a sound to his right froze him.

“La- *crackle* He- *crackle* eith,” Keith looked around in confusion, when his eyes landed on Lance’s displaced helmet. Keith lunged for the device, and shoved his head into it to try and work the com.

“Hello? Hello! Team Voltron, this is Keith, Hello?” he shouted frantically into the speaker, and he waited with baited breath until the crackle of the radio reappeared. 

“Oh thank god! Pidge, it worked! Guys, we know where you are, just stay put! We- *crackle* my lion will- *crackle* see you so- *crackle*-,” Hunk’s voice cut off, and Keith banged the side of the device in anger. What had that last part been?

“Hunk, repeat please! Hunk?! Repeat please,” Keith yelled, there was only radio silence now. But they’d apparently found them, their team had found them, and they were coming- somehow. Keith turned towards Lance, who was staring back at him- or at least it looked like it, it was hard to tell. 

“Lance- do you think you could stand? - the team- they're coming for us- we gotta be ready,” Keith asked gently, moving towards the blue paladin. He nodded slowly, eyes lids drooping low, and Keith thanked his lucky stars that soon- soon they’d be out of this mess. He grabbed hold of Lance, placing his arm around his waist and heaved him up. Which- it fucking hurt. He was definitely looking forward to getting in a cryopod.

Keith had them up now though, all they had to do was wait. Keith could hardly keep his breathing even in anticipation. And then the cavern was shaking, and Keith wasn’t all that excited anymore. Had the Galra gotten their drills working again? Were they even more screwed than they’d been before? Keith wanted to scream- honestly, could they not get a break. They had nowhere to run, even if they could so Keith just clung closer to Lance.

But then it happened, as the rumbling finally reached deafening levels the yellow lion broke through into the cavern, it’s roar echoing through the tunnel. Keith stared in shock as the lion came to a halt in front of them, rubble, and other debris settling around it. Keith watched as the lion’s mouth opened, and as Hunk jumped from the cockpit towards them. He was grinning, and saying something- but obviously Keith had reached his breaking point, because his vision was dimming, and his grip on Lance was loosening. He was only awake long enough to see Hunk reach them, concern now etched clearly on his face. And then Keith passed out.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Keith awoke in the cold confining space of the cryopod, his eyes snapped open as the wall disappeared in front of him. He stumbled a bit as he exited, and he was suddenly enveloped in a hug. 

“Oh Thank god! Keith’s out guys!” Keith could feel Hunk’s voice rumble through his chest, and he slowly extracted himself from his tight embrace. Hunk smiled down at him warmly as the rest of the team rushed over to check on him. They all started speaking at once, Pidge and Hunk babbling about tracking devices, and problems with comm communication, while Allura and Shiro seemed to be sternly telling him how worried they'd been, like two nervous parents. But Keith was just looking for Lance. Lance who wasn’t there.

“Where’s Lance- did he- Is he-”

“He’s okay man, or at least, he will be,” Hunk said a slight frown falling onto his face as he motioned to the cryopod to the right of Keiths. There Lance was, face serene in the dimness of the cryopod. Keith rushed over to it, glancing over the Blue paladin to see if any injuries were still visible. The rest of the team moved with him, all of them worriedly glancing between one another.

“The injuries that Lance sustained were much worse than yours I’m afraid. He’ll most likely be in cryo for another day,” Allura spoke up, shifting nervously, and Keith noticed Shiro take her hand in a calming gesture. With a sigh, Keith turned back to Lance, guilt washing over him like a strong tide.

“I don’t know what happened down there, and I won’t have you debrief us just yet- but you can’t blame yourself- you did what you could, and you got Lance back. For now, that’s all that matters. And- I’m sure that’s what Lance would think too,” Shiro said quietly, and the rest of the team nodded along. But Keith just couldn’t see it that way.

“It was my dumb plan that got us into that mess Shiro- I wasn’t thinking- and then when we got into trouble- I literally blew us up- and Lance got hurt, and- and I dragged him miles down into an alien planet, which I’m sure just hurt him more- this is my fault- it’s my fault,” Keith faltered, placing a hand on the glass screen of Lance’s cryopod. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, and Keith turned to see Hunk.

“Keith, Lance is my best friend, and if I know anything about him, it’s that he doesn’t do anything he doesn’t think is the right thing. If he went along with your plan, then it wasn’t a dumb one to him, and so what if it didn’t turn out like you expected- nothing in space usually does! You both got hurt, so it wasn’t like it was just Lance this effected, and I am positive he knows that everything you did, was to keep you both safe. So please, do not be hard on yourself,” Hunk said forcefully, squeezing his shoulder just a bit before pulling away. Keith stared in silent shock, but nodded silently. 

“Well then, now that that’s settled- I’m going to go make some weird alien waffles before Lance wakes up,” Hunk patted his shoulder with a grin. Keith smiled slightly as Hunk made his way out of the room, and the rest of the group smiled warmly at him before slowly moving back to their work that they’d brought to wait for Keith and Lance to wake. Keith paused a moment, then turned back to Lance, and sat down to wait.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

The wait was painful to say the least. At first at least he hadn’t been alone. The rest of the group had waited for a few hours or so outside the healing pods, passing time with their different activities. Eventually though, one by one the others had drifted off, knowing it would take at least another day for Lance to emerge. But Keith couldn’t. He had too many thoughts swirling through his head to even think about functioning properly. So he stayed, and watched, and waited. 

He had kissed Lance. That was the main topic on his mind. He had kissed Lance, and then- well, he couldn’t trust what Lance had said. He had been severely concussed, and probably delusional with pain. He probably hadn’t even realized what had been happening. He probably wouldn’t even remember. So Keith’s problems would be solved. Right? No, it would just make things worse. Because Keith would know, and he’d have to live with that, and- and he really wanted to do it again. He didn’t want it to be the ending of something that never even had a chance to begin.

He groaned slightly, banging his head back against the wall he’d been leaning on. This whole situation was shit, and he hated waiting around, being idle. But Lance wasn’t out, so Keith couldn’t move. He couldn’t let him wake up alone. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Keith had apparently fallen asleep, not to mention in a very uncomfortable position. He realized this when he was awoken by the familiar hiss of the cryopod opening. And suddenly Keith was up and alert, stumbling back just a bit as Lance fell forward into his open arms. Lance groaned softly, arms gripping Keith’s middle tightly. Keith stood frozen while Lance got his bearings a bit better, raising his head to meet Keith’s eyes. They stared silently for a few moments, before Keith eased Lance’s arms from around his middle.

“You feel okay?” He asked softly, and Lance blinked a few times before nodding. Then there was quiet again, and a lot of staring- and Keith wasn’t sure who should speak first now. Apparently it was him.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, ducking his head. He wanted Lance to stop looking at him. There was only so much of those blue eyes he could take.

“For- for what?” Lance asked, coughing a bit, his voice rough with disuse. 

“For everything that happened on Carbados- I mean- I don’t know how much you remember but- I’m just- I’m sorry for it all,” Keith muttered. Lance paused a moment, and Keith knew he was trying to lock eyes with him, but again- he wasn't sure he could handle that right now.

“Is this about- the kiss- because- I do remember that,” Lance said quietly, moving forward a bit. “ Albeit, the memories a bit fuzzy, you know- with my concussion and near death experience beforehand,” Lance chuckled, and now Keith was staring at him, in shock and horror. And he really wanted to run away right now. But damnit, Lance’s eyes held him in place.

“I didn’t- I shouldn’t have- I took advantage- It was stupid- I’m so sorry,” Keith rambled, his fists clenching at his sides in his panic. But Lance just rolled his eyes slightly, and then his hands were over Keith’s, and he was leaning forward, and then- and then they were kissing- and Keith stopped thinking. It seemed like both a blissful infinity, and too short for Keith’s liking when Lance pulled away, a smirk in place on his face. He didn’t let go of Keith’s hands though.

“There, now we’re even. No need to feel sorry. About anything by the way- because you obviously got us back- safe and sound- so- yeah, nothing to feel sorry about,” he finished, squeezing Keith’s hands in his before letting go. Keith’s brain was malfunctioning, because it couldn’t seem to process what had just happened.

“I’m sorry- um- you just- we just- you know- I think Hunk made us some waffles,” he blurted out, and Lance’s grin widened. Stepping around Keith towards the doorway.

“Waffles- I wouldn’t mind that, talking, eating, sounds like a good first date to me,” Lance said with a smirk, holding out his hand for Keith to take. So Keith did the first thing that came to mind, he took Lance’s hand with wide eyes, and together they strolled out of the room. It wasn’t the end as Keith had thought, it was just the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh, sorry for taking so long with this, I just really wanted this last chapter to be good, so I took extra time to edit and look it over. I also wanted it to be longer then the past chapters so there's also that. Anyway, it's done, I hope you guys enjoyed it. So I've got a few fanfics that I'm already planning out, but I don't know which one I wanted to do first, so if you guys do read my notes you can help me decide which idea I should do first!  
> So I've got-   
> A Percy Jackson Au (not a crossover mind, just them as demigods)  
> A High school superhero Au (This one I'm particularly fond of)  
> and finally, a one shot based off Keith's vlog (because I'm still not over it damnit)   
> But anyway, if you guys have any preference on what I should do next just comment! And thankyou so so so much for all the lovely comments I got on this fanfic, I really appreciate it!!! I'll probably have a new story up in the next week or so!! Thanks again!


End file.
